And We Fall
by BreatheInTheWords
Summary: Pony and the gang are all back for this heartfelt story (Johnny and Dallas live!). When Lucy Hawthorne enters Pony's life, everything changes. A girl with a tragic past and bleak present, Lucy suffers from PTSD. And when her best friend's abusive father goes missing, Lucy pulls the whole gang into a twisting mystery that will answer a plaguing question: what is justice?
1. Chapter 1

PLEASE READ: In my FanFic, Johnny and Dallas are still alive. After the fire, Johnny made an unexpected recovery. He is also still able to walk.

There was only one thing on Ponyboy's mind on his first day back to school: everyone thought he was a killer.

It didn't matter that it was Johnny who stabbed Bob or that it was in self-defense. Everyone saw Ponyboy differently now. They used to see a smart, quiet, and dirt poor boy. Now they saw him with his hands stained red by Bob's blood. At least, that's what Ponyboy is thought as he sat on the hood of Two-bit's beat up car.

It was the first week of school in Tulsa. Darry didn't make Ponyboy go back to school after the fire. There was only a week or two left, and Ponyboy was sick anyway. But now that Autumn had crept into the air, it was time to face the horrors of public opinion.

"I had this hot brunette in the back of my buddy's car," Dallas said as he leaned up against the driver side door. The whole gang had gathered to shoot the breeze before school, work, and general mischief. "I'm just trying to play a full game of baseball, if you know what I mean. All of a sudden, she starts talking about commitment. Man, I beat it out of there. Ain't no filly gonna tie me down."

"I heard she left you for one of the Shepheard gang," Steve commented as he cleaned his nails with a switchblade.

Dallas smacked the back of Steve's head, a fire kindling in his wild eyes. "Ain't no girl leave me for one of those no good for nothing wanna be's," he growled.

"Gee, Dally, she was the fourth girl this month," Soda said. Ponyboy heard the hint of sadness in his brother's voice and knew he was thinking about his ex-girlfriend. Soda really loved her, and it tore him apart when she had to leave. He hadn't been able to move on and find another girl, and it bothered him that Dally could jump from chick to chick while his heart was still bleeding. Soda wished he could move on that quickly.

"Shut your mouth, Soda," Dallas barked. He took a step toward Soda like a cat might towards something it was stalking. "You couldn't make your girl stay neither."

Soda looked like someone had punched him in the gut, but Pony felt the pain just as keenly. Willing to do anything to help Soda out, he offered himself as the sacrificial lamb. "Sure don't seem like you've had much luck with the girls, Dally," Pony muttered.

"What was that, you little puke?" Dallas spat.

"Cool off, Dally," Darry cut in. With his sixth cup of coffee in hand, he still looked exhausted. A twinge of guilt flickered in Pony every time he saw that tired look in his brother's eyes. Pony knew that the hospital bills from the fire were making things even harder on Darry. "You're just pissed cause you didn't get some," Darry added.

Pony laughed. Darry must have been tired to say something like that to someone as dangerous as Dally. Of course, laughing wasn't too smart either.

Dally closed in on Pony, his weasel-like face twisting with anger. "You think that's funny, huh? You haven't even had a date with a girl yet. You probably would trip over your tongue trying to kiss one. What do you know about girls? What do you know about making them stay when you can't get one in the first place?"

"Oh, boy, he got you there," Two-bit said with an obnoxiously loud laugh. Even at seven in the morning, Two-bit had enough enthusiasm for a dozen teenagers.

Pony could feel his ears growing red as Steve chuckled. He waited for one of his brothers to defend him, but they stayed silent. Finally, Pony boy shot back, "I know plenty about girls."

"Yeah?" Dallas mocked. "Prove it."

"Leave him alone, Dal," Soda weakly mumbled. He didn't have the emotional strength to put up a strong fight.

Pony swallowed. He could feel the anger in Dallas' eyes burning a hole in his own. "How?"

"Ask a girl out. Go ahead, try to get a girl to go out with a baby-faced, brainiac, little kid like you," Dallas said.

"Knock it off," Darry grumbles. Pony got the impression that Darry was more angry about their arguing this early in the morning than about what Dally was actually saying.

As the gang started joking about which girl Pony should date, Pony's eyes drifted towards a girl in the school yard. Her name was Lucy Hawthorne and she lived on the rich side of town. Her father owned almost everything in the neighborhood, including the business Darry worked for. She was bright-eyed and full of life. Pony had been watching her closely ever since he skipped a grade and landed in the same high school as she did. She was the only other kid he knew that had jumped a grade. He watched her from across the room in history, and he often stole glances at her during lunch. There was something different about how she walked and talked. She looked confident, yet not cocky. Bold, but not arrogant. Beautiful, but not conceited.

"Who you looking at, kid?" Steve asked, emphasizing the word 'kid'.

"Lucy Hawthorne," Johnny piped up. He didn't talk much, especially after the fire, but a smile crossed his face as he ratted Pony out. "He is always lookin' at her."

Pony's face burned red as the rest of the gang made teasing remarks and laughed at him. Soda actually looked proud. Darry just raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you had started to like girls," Darry commented dryly.

"It's about time," Soda said as he slapped Pony on the back.

"Come on, knock it off, guys," Pony mumbled.

"He sure has expensive taste," Two-bit said as he eyed Lucy. "She sure ain't from our side of the tracks."

"Go on, smart-aleck. Ask her out and see how far you get," Dally said, cruelty gleaming in his eyes.

Pony looked at the ground. How could he ask a girl like Lucy out on a date? He didn't have any money to take her to the places she was sure to be used to going. He wouldn't fit in with her friends. He wasn't even dressed well enough to ask a girl like her out. She would probably be embarrassed to be seen speaking to him.

"Go on," Dally prodded him.

"Shut up, Dally!" Darry orders. "It would just embarrass him."

"He thinks he knows so much about women, let him prove it," Dally counters.

"Leave him alone. I mean it. He hasn't ever been rejected by a girl before, and it shouldn't happen by some uppity girl he really likes. I don't want him hurt like that, so just shut up." Darry glares at Dally, but it doesn't seem to faze him.

"Come on, Pony. Go ask her highness out on a date. Man up, Pony. You can't be such a wussy forever," Dally mocked, his eyes shining with the unmistakeable joy of causing pain to someonelse.

Pony only had two options. Option one: continue to sit there with that embarrassing redness covering his face. Option two: prove Dally wrong.

In a moment of youthful stupidity, he chose the second option.

Pony jumped off the hood of Two-bit's care and made a bee line to Lucy. As he headed in her direction, Darry threw his empty paper coffee cup violently at the ground. "If Pony gets hurt, I'm gonna kill you, Dally," Darry snapped. Ever since the fire, he had grown even more protective of Pony. Darry blamed himself for what happened. He felt guilty when he saw the pain in Pony's eyes the day they picked him up from the hospital. Pony was more quiet and reserved after the fire. He cared less about school. He laughed less. He read less. He was… less. When people looked at Pony like he was a killer, Darry felt responsible. He knew that it was killing Pony on the inside, and therefore, he felt like he had killed Pony. And if Dally's stupidity caused Pony to be set even further back, Darry would kill him.

Pony could feel his heartbeat speed up as he crossed the street and entered the school yard. He felt butterflies invade his stomach as he approached Lucy. And when she looked at him, his entire body seized up.

She smiled softly at him, her eyes constantly darting to the ground as if she was nervous. She waited for him to speak, but he didn't. Finally, she spoke up. "Hey, Pony."

She knew his name? Pony could have died from surprise. "Uh, hi," he mumbled.

"I'm Lucy. We had history together last year, remember?" Lucy shifted the books in her arms and smiled wider.

"Yeah, I know," Pony boy managed to say without stuttering.

An awkward pause followed until Lucy spoke again. "I'm glad to see you are feeling better. Your friend, too. I heard about what happened."

Pony felt his cheeks blushing again. "Yeah, everyone did."

"They must all treat you like a hero," Lucy added.

"Nah, more like a killer," Pony huffed.

"Oh," Lucy said. Her face went a shade paler. "I guess people see things differently. It's all about perspective."

Pony was shocked that she was even speaking to him, but he still didn't believe for a moment that she would go out with him. She would lose her friends if she did. Her father would probably be furious. Her reputation would go down the drain. But he couldn't face Dally again if he didn't at least ask her.

The bell rang before he could get out the question. Hordes of kids began to fly past them and into the school. Out of the corner of his eye, Pony could see the gang was still watching him closely.

"I have to go," Lucy said quickly. "I'm supposed to see the principal before the first class." She pulled a pen out of her bag and grabbed Pony's arm. Carefully juggling her books, she wrote a series of numbers on his arm. "If you ever want to give me a call, this is my number. We could study together or something."

Suddenly, a few of the snobby rich girls who always gave Pony disgusted looks showed up behind Lucy.

"What are you doing?" one asked.

"Lucy! You can't talk to him!" cried another.

Lucy looked stunned. "Why not?"

"Don't you know what kind of boy he is?" one of the girls asked. "He lives on the other side of town."

"Oh," Lucy said. She took note of the way Ponyboy's shoulders drooped and his eyes turned to the ground. She hated that the other girls had embarrassed him, and she longed to make him feel better. "That's okay. I don't mind the walk." As Pony looked up in surprise, Lucy winked at him and then took off towards the school's entrance.

Her friends huffed and gasped and looked generally disturbed. They shot nasty looks at Pony before disappearing into the school building.

Pony stood in the school yard, his heart frozen with shock. He couldn't believe that a Soc wasn't embarrassed to be seen with him. Even Cherry Valance refused to acknowledge him in front of her friends. But Lucy was special.

She was the kind of special that changed things.

That changed people.

And after Lucy entered Pony's life, nothing would ever be the same again.

Feel free to leave a review with constructive criticism or comments. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

PLEASE READ: In my FanFic, Johnny and Dallas are still alive. After the fire, Johnny made an unexpected recovery. He is also still able to walk.

Pony's hand was shaking as he looked at the phone number scrawled on his arm. He had been careful all day to keep the numbers from getting smudged or removed, but he didn't really think he'd use them.

When he had waltzed back to Two-bit's car and showed the gang, they had all been surprised. The corners of Darry's mouth had turned down in a frown, but the rest of the gang had been ecstatic. Dally had given Pony a look that could have almost passed for respect. Soda had even smiled a real genuine smile, and that made it all worth it to Pony. Afterwards, every time Two-bit saw Pony in the hallway at school, he had pointed him out to whoever was nearest and said, "That grease ball got a phone number from a Soc girl without even having to ask!" It kind of embarrassed Pony, but it felt good too.

But when Pony had walked into his history class, his heart lodged in his throat. There was Lucy, sitting as pretty as a picture in the corner with a book. She had looked up and smiled at him. Cherry Valance didn't even dare to do that with so many Socs around. It stunned Pony so badly that he couldn't concentrate on anything for the rest of the day. He couldn't remember a single thing his teachers said after Lucy smiled at him.

At least it distracted him from all the hate he got. No one seemed to remember how he had pulled kids out of a burning building. No one seemed to care that Johnny had almost died trying to save those same kids. All the Soc teenagers glared at Pony, and they avoided Johnny all together. Maybe the burn scars covering Johnny's arms made them pity him too much to glare at him. The meanest thing they could do was pretend he didn't exist, though.

Now, standing in front of his home phone, Pony wondered if he dared call the numbers on his arm.

"Pick up the phone and give her a call," Soda said as if he read Pony's mind. Some days, Pony could swear that he did.

"I don't know," Pony muttered.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Soda asked.

"She could be a rotten, good-for-nothing Soc that is just playing a cruel trick on him," Darry shouted from the kitchen. He had gotten home from work an hour earlier and was almost finished making dinner. "And even worse yet, she could be trying to lure him onto a date where all her little Soc buddies would beat him into the ground."

"Awe, calm down, Darry. That ain't gonna happen," Soda retorted.

Darry shook his head. "You don't understand how deeply some of those kids hate Pony and Johnny. I've heard talk. Bad talk. Some of them want to kill him."

Soda swallowed. "Is that true, Pony?"

Pony shrugged. He hated to cause his brothers more grief. "I don't know, but I sure ain't making any new friends."

"Besides the cute blonde who wrote her number on your arm, right?" Two-bit said with a laugh. He thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Shut up, Two-bit!" Darry hollered. "She is just using him. A girl like that would never want anything to do with Ponyboy!"

The words stung Pony's soul. He had thought the same thing many times, but hearing his brother say it was like being doused with boiling water. He took off towards his bedroom and slammed the door.

"Awe, Pony," Darry half-heartedly shouted from the kitchen.

Inside his room, Pony flopped on his bed. It was unmade and smelled like Soda after a long day of working on cars. It was comforting though. Everything had changed so much in the previous months, and Pony was thankful for anything that felt familiar.

A few minutes later, Pony heard a gentle knock on his door.

"Pony, can I come in?" Darry asked.

Darry had changed, too. He stilled yelled. He still expected a lot from Pony. But the fact that he asked to come in rather than just bursting through the door showed a new gentleness that Pony appreciated and hated. He appreciated the consideration, but he hated that even Darry had changed. It was like he didn't know what to expect anymore.

"Sure," Pony answered. He didn't think that 'no' would have been an acceptable answer.

Darry slowly opened the door and slipped into the room. He rubbed the back of his neck like he always did when he felt guilty. "Listen, what I said earlier…"

"It was true," Pony interrupted.

Darry looked surprised. "Well, yeah. I guess it was. But if you know that, how come you stormed out?"

Pony sighed. "I hate the truth."

Darry nodded as if he understood, but a part of him would never quite understand Pony. They spoke different languages and lived on different planes. There would always be something lost in translation.

"But listen, Pony. I didn't mean to say you weren't good enough for her. Lord knows you are just as good as any Soc guy. I know it, too. And you should get a girl like her. It just ain't how things work." Darry's shoulders sagged and Pony wondered if that was why Darry never dated anymore. He deserved someone better than a greaser girl who smelled like ashes, drank too much, and hopped in the sack with every Tom, Dick, and Harry. But a good-smelling, sober, loyal, and modest girl like those who lived on the other side of town would never give Darry a second look.

"I guess you're right. But it ain't right," Pony said.

"What ain't?"

"The world."

Darry laughed, the cold and humorless laugh of someone who hates the truth. "You got that right, little buddy."

That was a change that Pony did like, however. Darry used to only call Soda 'little buddy', but ever since the fire, he used the special nick-name for Pony, too. Every time Darry called him that, Pony felt assured that Darry cared about him. It was a little thing, but it was the greatest little thing.

"Dinner is ready," Darry said as he started to leave the room.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry," Pony responded as he pulled a sketch pad and pencils out of his backpack.

Darry paused in the doorway. He hesitated, wondering if he should try to make Pony eat. He didn't want to fight with his baby brother, but he didn't want to see him waste away and get sick, either. Finally, he said gently, "Are you sure? You should eat something."

"I'm sure," Pony snapped. He realized he was a little harsh when he saw the concerned look in Darry's eyes. "I'll eat some later for a snack. I don't feel well right now."

Darry nodded. "Okay, but if you start to feel real sick, let me know."

"I will," Pony assured him.

A few hours later, there was a knock on the Curtis' front door.

Most of the gang was sitting in the living room, and they all looked towards the door with surprised and curious glances.

"Who the heck would knock in this neighborhood?" Soda asked. Most people that knew the Curtis brothers just came inside and made themselves comfortable. People who didn't know the Curtis brothers just left them alone.

A string of cuss words flowed from Darry's mouth. "Put out that cigarette and get rid of the beer. It might be the social work lady on a surprise visit."

Darry waited for the cigarettes to be snuffed and the beer to be hid before he tucked in his shirt, took a deep breathe, and opened the door.

But it wasn't an older lady with a dress suit and briefcase who stood on his porch. Instead, it was a fourteen-year-old girl with long, golden hair and pale blue eyes. Her skin was like porcelain, and her lips were ruby red. Her dress was light blue, modest, and well made. She looked out of place standing in front of a worn-down house on a filthy street of a crappy neighborhood. She looked too delicate to be real, yet there was a strength in her eyes. She had to be brave to come to this neighborhood alone.

"Hello, I'm Lucy Hawthorne," she said as she offered a dainty hand.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this story, favorite it and follow me so you will be notified as soon as the next chapter is uploaded. Feel free to leave a review or PM me.


	3. Chapter 3

PLEASE READ: In my FanFic, Johnny and Dallas are still alive. After the fire, Johnny made an unexpected recovery. He is also still able to walk.

Chapter 3

"Hello, I'm Lucy Hawthorne," she said as she offered a dainty hand.

From the living room, Darry heard Two-bit shout, "Hey, that's Pony's groupie!"

Lucy's face flushed crimson. She wasn't the type of girl who was used to being called a 'groupie'.

"Sorry about that," Darry offered. "I'm Darry Curtis." He shook her hand carefully, worried that she might shatter like a china doll.

Lucy smiled in a way that turned her eyes into crescent moons. "You must be Pony's older brother. I see good genes run in the family."

Darry, wary of the girl's intentions, refused to smile. "What are you doing around here?"

"Pony forgot his history book in class today. I thought I'd drop it by." Lucy pulled the shabby book from her backpack and showed it as proof.

"Thanks," Darry said curtly as he reached out for the book.

Just as his fingers grazed the cover, Lucy pulled it back. "Is Pony around?"

Darry's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Lucy shrugged. "I'd like to see him."

For a moment, Darry considered saying Pony wasn't there, but Lucy didn't look like she could hurt anyone. Not physically, anyway. Truthfully, it was Pony's heart that Darry was more concerned about guarding. But he couldn't just turn the girl out into the street.

As Darry ushered Lucy into the house, he nodded towards the back of the living room. "Go down that hall, first door on the left. Knock before you enter."

Lucy nodded and started walking in the direction he had indicated. She walked like a queen with her shoulders pulled back and her chin held high. No one would have known how awkward she felt walking by the group of boys that stared at her like she was an animal in the zoo.

When she reached Pony's door, she politely knocked and waited. Pony's quiet voice muttered, "Come in," from inside.

When the door swung open and Pony saw Lucy standing there, he almost jumped out of his skin. He leapt up from the bed, spilling his colored pencils onto the ground. "Uh, uh, Lu—what are you—what brings you…" Pony stuttered. Then he stood there, his face turning beet red and his legs feeling like rubber.

Lucy held up his history book. "You forgot this."

"Oh," Pony gasped. "You brought that all the way down here? I could have gotten it tomorrow."

"Well," Lucy started, "I guess I wanted to see you, too."

Pony nodded, but what Darry had said to him earlier filled him with skepticism. He couldn't believe a Soc girl like her would show up at his house to be nice.

"I wanted to apologize for how the kids at school treated you," Lucy said, sincerity ringing in her voice.

Pony's mind went blank for a second. Had she really said what he thought she did? "Why do you care?" he finally asked.

Lucy shrugged. "Let's just say that I went through something similar when I was younger. I know how it feels."

Pony stared at her for a moment. "You shouldn't be here," he blurted.

"Oh." Lucy looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's just that, well, what if someone saw you?" Pony asked,

Lucy furrowed her brow. "Why should I care?"

"But…" Pony remembered the way the girls had looked at him in the school yard as he talked to Lucy… "What about your friends?"

"If you are talking about the brats from the school yard, they aren't my friends. I can't stand them," Lucy quickly explained. "Please don't think I'm like them."

"No, I can tell you aren't." Pony glanced around his room and suddenly became self-conscience. The bed was still unmade, the floor covered in trash and clothes, and the desk was covered with crumpled pieces of paper. "I…I'm sorry about the mess. I usually keep this room cleaner."

Darry appeared in the doorway. "Since when?" he asked.

"Darry," Pony hissed, embarrassment turning his face an even darker shade of red.

"Lucy, you're welcome to stay if you want. We're starting a game of poker," Darry offered. He didn't really want her to stay. He thought the quickest way to get rid of a typical goody-good Soc girl was to suggest a game of sinful gambling.

But Lucy wasn't a typical anything. Her eyes lit up in all their pale blue magnificence. "I love poker, and I'd love to stay," she said enthusiastically. She paused and then shyly continued, "My parents are going to be home tonight."

"Oh, yeah?" Darry said, disappointment filling him. "Won't they miss you?"

Lucy's eyes never lost their brilliance, but her smile faded. "No, they won't. They'll be too busy yelling at each other."

"Oh." Darry's shoulders softened instantly. Something in her voice and sad smile made her look like merely a little girl with an unhappy home, and it was hard to see someone like that as the enemy. It was easy to think of Socs as snobby kids who got everything they wanted and had perfect families, but Lucy's words brought out the unpopular truth. Everyone hurts.

"Well, come on out whenever you're ready," Darry said with a nod as he retreated to the living room.

"You don't have to stay," Pony spoke up.

Lucy's face held no expression, but her voice sounded strained as she asked, "You don't want me to stay?"

Pony shook his head. "It isn't that. I just don't want you to feel like you have to stay because it's polite or something. I don't want you to get teased and bullied by your friends because they found out you were here. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with a house full of boys. And I don't want people to start talking about why you might have been here with a house full of guys. There are a million reasons for you not to stay."

Lucy nodded slowly, taking in everything he had said. "I never do anything just because it's polite. I don't care what anyone thinks or says. I don't mind being the only girl; it doesn't scare me. And the only reason I need to stay is because you want me to. Do you?"

Lucy was a puzzle to Pony. She was insane, really. Socs could get beat up or completely ostracized for chumming around with greasers. A girl like her would have to be crazy to risk that for him. What did he have to offer? A house that smelled like cigarettes and stale beer? A half empty fridge and completely empty wallet? She was out of her mind. She was a mystery, an algorithm, a labyrinth, and he was gripped with the undeniable compulsion to solve her.

"I do," he answered.

He began to set down the notebook he had been holding when Lucy caught a glimpse of it. She took a quick step forward until she was only inches from him.

"What's that?" she asked.

Pony gulped. "It's just a silly picture," he said as he tried to turn it so she couldn't see what he had drawn.

Lucy reached out and placed her hand on the notebook to keep him from flipping it over. "I'd like to see, please."

Pony shook his head. "It isn't that good."

Lucy laughed. "You don't have to be Michelangelo."

"It's pretty bad," Pony insisted.

"Did it come from your heart?" she asked.

Pony froze. He pondered it, mulled it over, and then nodded. "I guess it did."

Lucy looked him straight in the eye. She spoke as if she was saying something terribly important. "Then don't ever be ashamed of it."

The words settled into Pony. Finally, he handed the notebook to Lucy.

Lucy looked at the picture thoughtfully. There was a giant eye in the sky, and it was crying. Beneath the eye was an unmarked grave.

"It isn't finished," Pony said.

"Things that come from our hearts rarely are," Lucy responded. "I like it. I like almost anything that truly means something to someone, but I especially like this one. Are you going to mark the grave?"

Pony shrugged. "Lately, I've felt like I'm mourning something, but I don't know what. Maybe if I figure out what it is, but maybe it isn't anything."

"No, it's something," Lucy said urgently. "If you feel it, it's something."

Pony blushed, afraid he had said too much. He thought that he must have sounded too emotional. He was supposed to be a tough greaser, after all. He slouched his shoulders in the way he often did when he was trying to look tougher than he felt. "Let's go play that game of poker," he mumbled.

Lucy followed Pony to the kitchen table where most of the gang, besides Soda, was setting up a game of poker. Pony expected a Soc girl to feel uncomfortable around so many greasers, but Lucy walked right up to a chair, took off her jacket and threw it over back of the chair, and then plopped down on it. She propped her chin up with her wrist and casually asked, "Are we betting or just playing?"

Dally slammed his bear on the table. "Don't tell me the priss is staying to play!" he shouted. "Listen, honey, you dropped off the book. Why don't you beat it back to your side of the tracks now?"

Pony's heart lodged in his throat. He had to say something to defend his guest, be he was honestly scared of Dally. Dally was the unpredictable type of crazy that put fear in the hearts of everyone who had ever seen him snap.

But Pony didn't have to say anything because Lucy spoke first. "You're just afraid that a girl is gonna beat you."

Two-bit snickered. "Dang, Pony, you got yourself a firecracker!" he hollered as he slapped Pony on the back.

"Uh, she ain't mine or anything. I mean, we aren't, I mean," Pony fumbled his words.

"Listen, honey…" Dally began again, but Lucy interrupted him.

"My name is Lucy, not 'honey'." Lucy's eyes were serious, but not angry.

Dally jumped across the table and landed directly beside Lucy's chair, but she didn't flinch. "Pretty little things like you don't last long around here," he growled.

Lucy pulled her shoulders back and looked at Dally without the slightest hint of emotion. "You don't intimidate me," she said slowly and clearly.

An awkward silence settled in as Lucy and Dally tried to stare each other down. Neither one of them was about to give, so Johnny spoke up to distract Dally.

"Hey, Dal," he started, "what are we betting?"

Dally, having always had a soft spot for Johnny, was immediately sidetracked. "Uh, I don't know, kid. Whatever you want to."

"We could bet cigarettes," Steve suggested as he lit a fresh one.

Two-bit looked Lucy up and down and then let out a loud laugh. "You got cigarettes tucked somewhere in that dress?"

Pony felt his gut twist, but Lucy didn't seem embarrassed at all. She chuckled and said, "You never know."

Two-bit laughed. "I like her," he announced. "You're alright, Lucy."

Soda came out of the kitchen with a soda in one hand and a bowl of popcorn in the other. He smiled when he saw Lucy. He obviously wasn't as worried about her as Darry had been. "You gonna play a game with us?" he asked as he sat down in the chair next to her. When Lucy nodded in response, Soda grinned up at Ponyboy. That embarrassed Pony, but with how sad Soda had been about his girlfriend moving, anything that made Soda happy was worthwhile to Pony.

The gang decided on betting pretzels since it turned out Lucy did not have cigarettes tucked anywhere in her dress. The game went smoothly for quite a while. Lucy turned out to be pretty good at poker, and she didn't seem to mind the crude remarks and guy-like behavior that the gang let loose. Two-bit had a dandy time teasing her because she always teased back. Darry was a little cold at first, just like everyone else had been a little stiff at the start, but Lucy made them all warm up to her. A sort of heat radiated from her and melted them all. Well, all except Dally. He didn't melt, but he did stop glaring at her.

Everything went smoothly for about an hour. Then there was a knock on the front door.

The gang looked at each other the same way they had when Lucy had knocked. Another visitor? It was too late for it to be the social worker.

As Darry got up to answer the door, he shot a suspicious look at Lucy. If the visitors turned out to be a group of her friends ready to beat Pony up, Darry would throttle them all.

But when he opened the door, there was another girl standing there. Her torn up jeans and faded t-shirt showed that she wasn't a Soc, though. No, in fact, she was a rather infamous greaser girl. Diana Wells was her name, and she was known for being as ruthless and tough as any gang banger from New York City. She was scary, almost Dally's level of scary.

"Can I help you?" Darry asked, clearly surprised.

Diana looked vicious but rattled, like a wolf that was outnumbered and backed into a corner. She swiped a few shoulder length strands of dark hair from her eyes and demanded, "Is Lucy here?"

Darry didn't even have to answer. Lucy quickly got up and went to the doorway. "Hey, Diana. What's wrong?"

Diana grabbed the collar of Lucy's dress and yanked her closer. She hurriedly whispered something in Lucy's ear and then leaned back, an urgent look on her face.

Lucy's skin was instantly drained of the little color it possessed. She turned around, her face white as a sheet and her eyes wide with terror. Without saying a word, she dashed back to her chair, snatched her jacket, and sprinted out the door like her life depended on it.

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Feel free to leave a review with constructive criticism or comments. Thanks for reading!


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